


The Birth of a Legend.

by DBZVelena



Series: An unlikely Alliance [1]
Category: Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2
Genre: Gen, How did Rytlock get that sword anyway?, Sohothin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-27 23:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/984753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DBZVelena/pseuds/DBZVelena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rytlock and his warband have a mission. Go to the Fire islands and retrieve a sword. What could possibly go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Title: The Birth of a Legend.  
Fandom: Guild wars 2  
Category: pre-slash  
Disclaimer: Characters, locations and anything you might recognize belong to ArenaNet and NCSoft. No money is being made. This is fanfiction!

Chapter 1.

“Grrr!!! Those ignorant idiotic fools.” Rytlock grunted as he marched. Rytlock was so, so fed up with their ignorant comments. Always commenting on his size, as if that mattered. His strength and lack there of. And anything else they could comment on.

Rytlock was marching at the back of the warband. They were headed for something the humans called a bloodstone at the Ring of Fire islands. Somebody in Ash-legion had found out where Sohothin, sister-sword to Magdaer was located. Not as previously assumed in the Shiverpeak mountains. But, according to ancient texts, where the dead human prince had been reanimated in to an undead minion by some Lich. Only to be killed again by some nameless human hero.

“Typical humans, they went all that way there. Only to forget to bring the sword back with them.”  
Rytlock was not a happy charr. After a week of dodging humans, as they made a trek through Kryta. They, now were marching through a swamp. Dirty wet fur, insects the size of his claws, and no decent food till they reach the coastline. No, Rytlock would rather fight ghosts.

Their Legionnaire raised his paw and signaled for them to scatter and hide. Great, thought Rytlock. More trouble. From his hiding place, half submerged in the swamp-water. Rytlock noticed two... well they looked green like plants, but they were walking like humans. He had no idea what they were, or if they were even dangerous. But orders were to get to the Ring of Fire unseen.

After the green-human-like creatures had walked on and were out of sight. Everybody came out of hiding place again. And of course they had to start up with the teasing again. Really, one day soon He'd gut the lot of them and be done with it. Being a gladium would be better than being the joke of the warband.

By nightfall they finally reached the coastline. And they were far enough away that they would not be accosted by undead orians. The Legionnaire gave the order to set up camp for the night. Tomorrow they were to build a boat big enough that it could take them to the Ring of Fire islands. 

That night Rytlock slept uneasy. He just knew something would go wrong on this mission. If only because they were so far from charr territory and basically on their own. And the average intelligence of his warband-mates wasn't much higher than that of humans.

The next morning, if was freshly caught fish for breakfast. Not his favorite, but better than rations. And after, they started on the building of the boat. It was a good thing they had an engineer with them. Rytlock got the “lucky” assignment of chopping wood for the construction. “It will put some muscle on those skinny arms of yours.” According to their Legionnaire. There was nothing wrong with his arms. Just because he's not as bulky as Some charr. Didn't mean he was a bad warrior. Rytlock knew he was the best sword-fighter of the whole warband. But for some reason they never let him take point.  
Rytlock sighed and continued chopping down trees. At least this job didn't require having to talk to his warband. He really didn't know what he was thinking when he joined the warband.

It took a week before they had a decent enough boat that could get them to the Ring of Fire. The speed of construction mostly thanks to the engineer. Who had some excellent skills in constructing things. Rytlock was glad they had finally finished. His arms were aching from all the wood-chopping he'd had to do. Since they finished mid-day. It was decided they would leave the next morning. Surprisingly beside the insects and humidity, noting had gone wrong. Those green-human-like creatures had not shown up again.

Of course, that things were going so well, was not making Rytlock feel any better. If anything it made him feel worse. He just knew! That something was going to cause trouble and get them either killed or at the very least, severely maimed. But Rytlock knew that as the youngest member of the warband, he wouldn't have much sway over how things would go. So he resolved that he's do everything in his power to get everybody back home in one piece.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

The morning of their departure to the Ring of Fire, they again had fish for breakfast. And by now Rytlock really had enough of fish. But it really was the easiest prey near them. The warband packed up everything they had with them, as well as the extra food and water they had stocked up while building the boat. Who knows what those islands would bring after all. The only information they had, told of an active volcano and lots of scorched land. And that information was at least over 200 years old.

Once sailing on the west most part of the Strait of Malchor, it was clear that the currents were not in their favor. Thankfully they had an Elementalist with them who did some fancy spell-work to keep then on course. Or the currents would have dropped them off in the middle of Orr with all its undead Orrians. All that casting did exhaust their elementalist though. So when they finally saw the Ring of Fire islands on the horizon. It brought with it a kind of euphoric feeling. They were almost at their destination. They had been traveling for months. So seeing those islands was like seeing their ticket home.

Of course Rytlock knew better then to celebrate. They did not have the sword yet. Nor did they make land yet either. All kinds of things could still go wrong. So Rytlock, instead of being euphoric, kept a steady eye on their surrounding water. Keeping watch, while the others were being the usual idiots they were. It was a good thing he did too. Because out of the deep dark waters came a creature of the likes they had never seen. It was huge! And hungry.

The giant sea-monster attacked their small boat with long huge tentacles swinging up out of the water. Rytlock was the first to swing his sword and cut a piece of one of the tentacles. But there were plenty more to attack. Thankfully, being attacked by a giant sea-monster was enough to snap the rest of the warband out of their daze. So then the whole warband of nine charr were fighting off the tentacles and trying to prevent them from wrapping around their boat and dragging it underwater.

They didn't notice it, but while they were fighting for their lives and the survival of their ship. The giant sea-monster was dragging them closer to it lair, off the coast of the Ring of Fire. So when it finally crushed the wooden boat in to little pieces. It was not a very long swim for the warband to get to one of the islands. They made it to shore at a place long ago was known as the Ring of Fire island. Of course they did not know this. Since the ancient map had been lost along with the boat. They had barely enough time to grab their packs before jumping overboard. Swimming for relative safety, while the sea-monster was still busy with the broken parts of what had once been their boat.

Rytlock was glad they had all made land, and their legionnaire soon had them line up for inspection. The results were some minor injuries and some cracked armor. But nothing that could not heal or be fixed. They had not been attacked through all of this. In fact besides a distant rumbling sound. There was not a single sound of insect, bird or other creature. As if the surrounding land was holding it breath after seeing life for the first time in centuries. It put Rytlock on edge. Any kind of silence was always before a storm. He just knew, that the sea-monster would turn out to be the least of their problems.

The place they had gone to shore was, once it was examined, actually a cooled down lava stream. No doubt the result of the huge tidal-wave caused by Orr. It was also the place their legionnaire decided to set up camp for the night. No doubt because everybody was exhausted from the fight and the swim to shore. Thankfully he did decide to put some on watch. Two hour shifts with two of them on watch. Four shifts and of course Rytlock got the third shift. However at that point he really didn't care anymore. He pulled his sleeping skin from his pack, placed it on the ground next to a cliff side, and curled up on it to sleep. If something jumped him while asleep it would no doubt have wiped out the rest of the warband too. So then it wouldn't matter anyway. Rytlock knew very well his survival odds if on his own on this dangerous island.

Rytlock woke with a start from the yelling. So he was up and armed in seconds. They were under attack! The creatures looked like Shadow Skelk, but not. Looking at them was like looking in to darkness. And they were vicious. No doubt hungry on the desolate island. Soon Rytlock found out they also were impossible to hit with his sword. He slashed right through them as if they were air. And they'd still attack as if nothing hurt them. So Rytlock picked up an shield from the ground and used it to try and deflect attacks. To keep the creatures off their mesmer. Who was trying hard to create an illusion strong enough to fool the monsters in the thinking they had ran off, or something. At the same time, the Elementalist was using spells to create areas of effect to damage the creatures, which at least seem to be slightly effective. Just as the wells created by their necromancer. But any non-magical attack went right through. Rytlock gave a shout to get everybody to focus and maneuver as best they could, their foe's together. So their elemantalist and necromancer could stack up their magic and create even more deadly magic fields.

It was hard, took a long time and they had to dodge away from attacks numerous times. But finally after hours of fighting, one by one the creatures disappeared. Only trouble was, they didn't know if it was because they had killed off these creatures of the night. Or if the morning light had scared away the shadow creatures. But the fight was over and everybody was still relatively alive. Though their Legionnaire's pet had received a fatal blow and was now no longer among the living. Their first casualty since the start of their mission. It was obvious that with the death of his pet, a large part of the drive to succeed left their legionnaire. It would be a hard fight to fulfill their mission now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody wanna be my slave-driver beta?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

After some convincing, their legionnaire agreed that it was a bad idea to stay where they were. So the exhausted but alive warband started a slow trek through the desolate and eery silent wasteland. Keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Last think any of them wanted was walking in to an ambush after all.

They carefully made their way across the landscape until they started to see the ruins of some kind of structure. Made of a black-purple glas-like material unlike any they had seen before. This place looked like something had lived here before. What if those old stories of unseen foe's were true. What if, the human story of the Mursat, was not a propaganda tale to scare the charr from mounting an assault on the human kingdom of Kryta.

Not that charr scare easily. But between the flame legion, the Ebonhawk stronghold and the violent discussions between legions. Amassing an army to wipe out Kryta had simply never been much of a priority. Or never had enough support to become one.

Still, they were walking through the ruins of some kind of stronghold. There were statues or perhaps destroyed constructs everywhere. Along with bones of some kind of creature. Tall as a Norn, but to slim and delicate to have been one. The fingers and toes were to long too.

Were this the remains of dead mursat? Was the information on which they had been sent there true after all? These were all thoughts going through Rytlock's head. It looked like their mission was not the deadly fools errand he had thought it would be. Oh, it was still deadly, but at least the goal could potentially be completed.

“It's best we keep a close eye on our surroundings. Who knows if something still lives in these ruins.” Rytlock had spoken softly. But with the silence around them, everybody had heard him and agreed. If reluctantly in some cases.

Rytlock slowly made his way through the ruins, the rest of the warband behind him. As if by some unanimous unheard vote, he'd been assigned point, to guide them through the desolate ruins towards their unseen goal. None commented on the change. If anything, they all kept as silent as they could. No point in alerting any unseen foes to their location after all.

It was slow going through the ruins. Especially because they were trying to be as silent as they possibly could. Between crunchy bones, sharp construct-statues and the occasional burned out lava-flow. It was no wonder.

As night started to fall, they finally reached the other side of the ruins. Only to encounter the remains of a broken bridge across a slow flowing lava-river. The river was far below them and the remains of the bridge. And not till they stood at the edge did they even hear it. The knispering popping sound. And the heat!

How were they going to get across? Rytlock looked to their engineer. But he shook his head sadly. “There are no materials here that I can work with. And even if there were. The heat from the lava would instantly combust it. Making it useless regardless. And I can not work what is here. Because I do not know its properties.”

Rytlock looked at the rest of the warband. “Any bright ideas? If not, we'll have to find our way around. If that is even possible.” the group of charr were silent while thinking of some way across.

From the ancient tale of the humans who fought the mursat here. It spoke of an bridge to cross towards the location of what the humans called a Bloodstone. And there should be where Sohothin was last seen. On the bloodstone, next to the corps of an undead prince.

But getting there was not an easy task. That was obvious now. With the obstacle of the lava flow and broken bridge.

“um... I could try casting a portal on the other edge of the bridge. Then send a doppelganger there to check if its sturdy enough that we could use my portal to cross over. If it is, we wouldn't need a bridge to cross at all.” Their mesmer suggested, and it brightened up all the charr's faces. For having to find a way around could potentially cause all kinds of problems.

So the mesmer stood on the edge of the broken bridge. Carefully holding on to a rope tied to his waste and his warband. So if the bridge collapsed, he would not be falling down with it. Then, when he felt he had gotten as close as he could without burning his fur or falling in. He cast the portal spell. Sending one side to the other end of the broken bridge. And the other end at their side.

Quickly, the mesmer got back from the edge of the bridge. Breathing heavily from the heat and stress of getting that close to potential death by falling in to lava. Now safe from at least that potential death, the mesmer cast his doppelganger and sent him through the portal.

In a flash the doppelganger was on the other side. While its creator was staring off in to space, that concentrated on making sure at least that edge of the bridge would be able to hold their weight. The others stared as the creation walked around the broken edge, jumped up and down in places and generally tested its stability and construction.

It turned out to be sturdy enough that one by one, the charr warband could cross to the other side, quickly getting off the bridge so the next charr could cross. Until finally it was only the mesmer him self, who had to cross.

And just as the mesmer stepped off the remains of the bridge, a giant flow of lava came up over the caldera edge and destroyed the last remains of the bridge. If they had arrived even five minutes later than they had, half of the warband would have been dead.

Instead they had crossed the gap and got off with only minor singe marks from the heat. Which got them running to take cover behind a rock side close by. One more obstacle passed. And who know how many left to go.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Rytlock was looking disgusted at his claws. The heat was causing him to sweat, and his claws were soaking wet because of it. On top of that, he was panting like a warmachine. And the metal from his armor was not helping. So Rytlock stripped it off and looked towards the rest of the warband. 

Thankfully, the rock they had taken cover behind was keeping the intense heat from scorching them even more. It was red and purple and seemed to absorb the heat from the lava. In fact, it was cool to the touch. So Rytlock leaned his back against it.

The rest of his warband was also busy trying to cool down. Some were using water to soak their ears. Some had stripped like Rytlock and were now sitting with their backs against the rock. And one was doing some ridiculous dance to get the air flowing past his ears and paws to get both to cool off at the same time.

It actually made Rytlock smile a little. Having survived the crossing of the bridge felt just as good as having won a battle in the Bane. Or like one of the first missions he'd gone on, a short trip to push back some of the ghost threat. For the first time in a while, Rytlock felt good about his warband-mates.

Well, some of them. He still hated the necromancer's guts. But then, that was because the guy had a tenancy to spew his homophobic and humanphobic crap at the slightest provocation. Acting like everybody agreed with him too. One day, Rytlock knew he'd do something about the arse. But for now, they needed all of them to finish their mission.

Rytlock looked at the other members of the warband. The elementalist was using his water-magic skills to refill depleted water-skins. Good thing too, because Rytlock doubted they would find any fresh water on the island. The mesmer was leaning against the rock, eyes closed. No doubt tired after all that complicated magic and having to do some extreme concentrating. The engineer was looking over all his packs. Checking if all his things didn’t have any adverse reactions to the mesmer portal magic. Their ranger legionnaire was staring off in to space morosely. The thief was doing the strange dance. It looked ridiculous, but since he was still at it, it must have been effective.  
And last but not least, their guardian was, as always, on guard. Watching for more trouble even as he was cooling off by soaking his ears and the rest of his head in water. A good thing, they had a elementalist with them, that knew his water-spells.

Soon, Rytlock knew they would continue their way through these ruins of a almost forgotten race. But for now, leaning against the cool rock was good. So Rytlock pulled his pack closer and dug up his food rations. If they were staying put for now, he might as well have some food. Though he hoped that their stay on the island wouldn't be a long one. Rations will after all run out eventually. And there was so far, nothing to hunt and eat. Not even birds in the sky.

If they did have to stay beyond their rations limits, they would need to find a beach they could reach. Al though that would not guarantee, them being able to catch any more fish. For now though, they still had enough dried meat and smoked salmon to not starve. But if they took longer than a week, it would get dicey.

As Rytlock was munching on some dried meat, the elementalist came closer. “Hey, Rytlock, do you need your water-skin re-filled? It will only take a moment.” Nodding, Rytlock handed over his water-skin. He knew he'd need to drink more now that he had lost so much from sweating. “Thanks, I’m glad you're so good at water-spells.” That got Rytlock a rueful smile. “After all the flame legion we fought. I'd better be. Fighting fire with fire might sound nice in theory. In practise, most who wield fire, have some immunity to fire too. It wouldn't be smart to use fire otherwise. So knowing your water and ice spells are practically required.” Rytlock smiled back. “Lucky us, you're on our side then hu? Don't think, I didn't notice you've had less problems with the lava-heat, then the rest of us.” Full out laughing now, the elementalist handed Rytlock back his now full water-skin. Moving on to help the next one of their warband.

It made Rytlock grin. Maybe after the mission was over, his band-mates would finally realise he was as good a warrior as any of them. Strong enough to take point when they march to fight their enemies. Well, only time would tell.

“Heads up, I saw movement up ahead. We might have incoming hostiles. Be prepared!”  
The guardian warned them. The result was a frantic scramble to re-arm, pack away things and generally get ready for their next big fight. At least this time they had some warning, unlike last night. In fact, wasn't it getting pretty late in the day? They would need to find a good place to spend the night soon.

But first the fight. And fight it would be. For all though they didn't know it. What the guardian had spotted was an Titan patrol. For the soul-batteries that had kept these fearful from coming through the Door of Komalie, had long since run out. And with the death of Abaddon 250 years ago, these mighty foes had gotten a new master, a dragon master!

Primordius, deep under the ground had taken control of these being of fire. Using them as his eyes to watch Zhaitan and his undead army. For this ancient dragon was no fool and knew well, the power of these small creatures now populating their world. They had after all killed one of his most powerful lieutenants. Before they had even known the age of dragons was upon them. So watch, he would. And wait, see what Zhaitan would make of these tiny beings swarming their world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty please, somebody write me review? It's what helps me continue this story you know!
> 
> Also, beta wanted? ^_^ V


End file.
